Supreme Court Dismisses PIL Alleging Health Side Effects Of Covid Vaccines

Today (October 14, 2024, Monday), the Supreme Court (SC) bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra dismissed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) alleging health side effects of the Covid vaccines. The PIL sought the constitution of a Medical Expert Panel to examine the risk factors and side effects of the Covishield vaccine. The counsel appearing for the petitioners stated that the vaccines induced side effects like blood clotting. He added that various class action suits, concerning the issue, have been filed in foreign countries like the United Kingdom (UK). It has been determined that the British Pharma Company AstraZeneca, which developed the vaccines including 'Covishield', is facing a legal suit by approximately 51 petitioners before the UK High Court claiming fatalities and severe injuries as a result of the vaccine. The petitioner, in the PIL, said, “AstraZeneca has accepted a link between the vaccine and Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), a medical condition characterized by abnormally low levels of platelets and the formation of blood clots.” After hearing the matter, the CJI said, “Because of the Covid Vaccines, we were able to deal with the outbreak which shook the humanity. Now don't rake up these issues.” The CJI added that the petitioners should have filed class action suits rather than filing a petition under Article 32 if they were aggrieved. Further, Justice Pardiwala asked if the petitioner himself suffered from any side effects, to which the counsel replied negatively. The CJI refused to entertain the petition stating, “Also understand what would be the side effects, if you didn't have the vaccine .....we don't want to rake this up, this is just to create a sensation ...dismissed.”